In February 2013 I started with the J.S. Bernhardt Studien (Short Stays Studies), ever since five years passed by, during which I added another article called Schnürleibstudien 2.0 in 2014 about an interesting pair of short stays from the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, and I went to Dresden in 2016, all that has led - some readers may have noticed the announcement on the sidebar these past days - to new and exciting studies, which directed me into the 1790s.

Before I'll share the results of my latest study, a tutorial and a helpful pattern, I'd like to take a moment to introduce this interesting person, master tailor/dressmaker and almost forgotten author. His story is fascinating, despite only few facets of his once seminal bright personality in the tailors trade still sparkle. I hope that by the end of this short biography J.S. Bernhardt's achievements will shine a bit brighter than it did during his life.

Thanks to the help of the Freundeskreises Trinitatis-und Johannisfriedhofs in Dresden and the administration of Elias-, Trinitatis- und Johannisfriedhofs Dresden, we were finally able to find a hint on his grave in the burial books. J.S. Bernhardt was laid to rest on Eliasfriedhof in Dresden on December 1st 1817.

In 1812, after publishing his two volume book, he still lives at that place. Close to his home on the same street was the famous bookshop Arnoldische Buchhandlung, where Bernhardt has published his work.

J.S. Bernhardt has earned already some wealth before he published his two books, which is told in a Dresden booklet from 1881 by Heinrich Klemm with the title "Geschichte der altehrwürdigen und wohl-angesehenen schneider-Innung", it's a history of the tailor's guild and gives us an insight of Bernhardt's role. Unfortunately this was the only piece I could find about Bernhardt...yet it gives us valuable clues on him.

In Heinrich Klemm's 1881 booklet this opposition is described in detail, wherein J.S. Bernhardt's publication is the focus.

Klemm gives us plenty of examples about the steady conflicts with the tailor's guild, e.g. from 1794 [...]another
file of the guild against Johann Christiane Blaumann from Leipzig, who
offered on this year's Lentmarket in her booth short stays made with
whalebone[...] (page37)

A fascinating excerpt, because it reveals that short stays already started to appear and that they are offered ready-made.

But back to J.S.Bernhardt and his first published book in 1810, which led to a [...]lengthy trial through all instances against the dressmaker Bernhardt[...] (page 37)

Here Heinrich Klemm gives us a thorough
description of Johann Samuel Bernhardt [...]Master Johann Samuel Bernhardt
has made a very well reputation as dressmaker in Dresden, he worked for
quite some years for wealthy families, especially the aristocracy, and
most of the travellers, who come to Dresden followed the recommendation of his reputation if
in need of a dressmaker. He was also a highly educated man, and with his
excellent practice he not only made a respectable fortune, but also
earned himself routine in cutting, which back then was done without
any academic principals. Bernhardt was the first, who has put his
knowledge into a working system, and eventually published it in his
books[...] (page 37ff)

Bernhardt's
contemporaries were less impressed. Without reading the book, thetailor's guild sued
a file at the court on 7th December 1810 and a few days later brought
this even to King Friedrich August. They were in dire fear, that plain women
could learn the art of dressmaking and hence tailors/dressmakers would
become obsolete. They were appalled, that Bernhardt shared his knowledge
with women, because they already had their status in society and weren't
meant to built a business or trade, they were restricted to the house
and simple needlework. (The excerpts of the original files give a clear impression of the misogyny of that time) The guild aimed to get the book off the market!

Fortunately the file was rejected by
court and also the king, but it happened for a high price, because
Bernhardt, who had already given lessons to women in cutting an
construction before the publication, suffered immensley under the
tailor's guild and finally gave up the education.

But his two volume book remained and also the Bernhardt's system of square or net patterns.

Have these three dear Berlin ladies known the works of the master dressmaker Bernhardt? Well, probably they've been familiar with the book against stays "Ueber die Schädlichkeit der Schnürbrüste" written by Ch.G.Salzmann, which was published in 1788 in Erziehungsanstalt Schnepfenthal (the same place where only a few years later the German translation of Mary Wollstonecraft's book "A vindication of the right's of women" was published).

Maybe under their fashionable dresses, they already wear the popular short stays with only little baleen, which still gives the desired silhouette.

And while the three beauties discuss, we take a look into J.S.Bernhardt's publication from 1810, where he graphically shares the change of a pair of 1780s stays to a wide range of more comfortable new stays directly developed from the early days :

Bernhardt's 1790sstays (Patron "D"), carried out with the square system.

The first two attempts led to undesired wrinkles in the fabric. In the third attempt I cut the third pattern piece with the edge facing to the front parallel to the selvedge, while I also followed the construction of Fig.C. where all pattern pieces would also be arranged on the bias.

In the following picture (right) it is shown how the pattern is placed on the fabric to achieve the stretch, which Bernhardt desired:

An indivdually adjusted hip gore, which is inserted along the mark "e" in the third pattern piece, and an individual shoulder strap, which ist fastened with ribbons in the back, are also part of the whole pattern.

The inside, which shows that the stays are sewn with the doubled overcast stitch. Here the seam allowance is folded under and then the pieces of both layers are put left to left side and then sewn together with the next doubled pattern piece from the left side. This way both layers inside and out have fine seams.

There are twenty small lacing holes altogether in the front. The stays remain half unattached ( from "h" to "g") in the front and close with ribbons, this way both edges can curve a bit to the inside around the female shape and it prevents that the baleen won't stick out through the dress fabric.

Der Schnürleib in der Sammlung des Victoria & Albert Museums in London weist einige deutliche Gemeinsamkeiten auf, allen voran der sparsame Gebrauch von Baleen und der Konstruktion mit nur zwei Lagen Stoff. Sie sind auf die 1780er datiert, was einige Fragen aufwirft, aber leider hat das Museum auf meine Anfragen nicht reagiert.
Möglicherweise wurden sie nach Bernhardts Anleitung gefertigt (ob seinen in ganz Europa verbreiteten Büchern nach 1810 folgend oder durch persönliche Anleitung/Verbreitung durch Reisende, die ihn aufsuchten, in den Jahren zuvor bleibt ungeklärt), oder diese Art der Schnürleiber war schon in den 1790ern weiter verbeitet und J.S. Bernhardt nahm diese Form auf. Jedenfalls wage ich es, sie in die 1790er zu datieren.These stays from the Victoria & Albert Museum Collection in London has striking similarities, first of all the sparse use of baleen and the construction with only two thin layers. They are dated to the 1780s, which brings up some questions, but unfortunately the museum decided to ignore my inquieries.It could be, that these were made after Bernhardts system (could be taken from his books known across Europe after 1810 or through personal instruction/manufacture by travellers of his business), or maybe these stays were already quite common in the 1790s and Bernhardt added a similar modell to his collection. Well I dare say that these stays are from the 1790s.

Dear Sabine,Another piece of the puzzle fits into place now. Agreeing with Kerstin, how much information about Bernhardt and his contemporaries might have been lost due to the WWII bombing. You might have learned more about then-current fashions and how Bernhardt's designs fitted into the constellation of designs then in use.

This particular design is so elegant in its use of bias and cutting to create room for cups and to create a fine smooth fit. The delightfully light construction is wonderful too. We know that there were lightweight stays out there for summer and nighttime use. Here it seems clear that these are for daily wear, not just nighttime ir in the heat.

Beautiful job, Sabine. Have a feeling that this pattern will be a popular choice among costumers.

Thank you so much for your kind words! It is so amazing to be able to work with Bernhardt's books, it's truly a milestone in the history of the tailor's/dressmaker's trade. Unfortunately lots of other things got lost, especially in the mentioned terrible WWII...when I've been in Dresden two years ago, sadly nothing reminded me of the Webergasse/Alter Markt depicted from around 1790/1800.

Dear Sabine, Thank you for sharing your exellent research. Now Bernhardt life is more clear for me. Very interesting that in tailor guild in Dresden were opposition considerate about his book (if I understand correctly), so it give information that a new fashion was a problem for acceptable for "conservative tailors". Also is very interesting front shape of yours stays - it's like as "underbust corset"?. Alexandra

Dear Alexandra,the tailor's guild was in rage about the publication, because Bernhardt invented a system, which made it easier to adjust patterns, plus he offered patterns and the construction freely to everyone. He shared the knowledge of his craft and the tailors/dressmakers feared that they might get out of business because of it.The Schnürleib is not an underbust, it covers the half of the bust and lifts it, still it's essential to wear a chemise with it.I hope my answers helped you? If you're going to try this pattern I would love to see your result :) Thank you!

Fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing your research and making the pattern available! I can't wait to test it for myself. I saw a similar pair of stays in the Colonial Williamsburg collection last fall. The shape is almost identical, but they have a couple more peices of boning in the front, as well as some decorative stitching.

Thank you very much for your comment. I can't wait seeing your stays made up after this pattern.As the three front pieces of each half are cut on the bias, further boning would work against the stretch effect, but I guess some decorative stitches would go fine with it...with these old patterns it's often a learning by doing, it took me a while to understand the whole text and then it suddenly made total sense...fascinating indeed!

Bravo - great research, both on the pattern and Bernhardt himself! I feel sorry for him, with such a talent it's a pity that he had to suffer like this (and just a few years before women were allowed to take on sewing clothes for clients).

Thank you for the pattern, helpful instructions and all the photos. It's amazing to see the pattern transformed into a functional and well-made garment.

I'm curious, how did you place the grainlines on your first two mockups?

The V&A stays are really interesting, because the cut is identical to English 1780s stays, except that there's a hip gusset instead of an additional shaped seam. I've been looking at photos of 18th century stays for a while, trying to understand the changing styles and national characteristics, and I've got the impression that hip gussets were fairly common in fully boned stays on the European continent, while in England it's hard to find any examples at all of boned stays with gussets. It's as if English staymakers didn't use gussets until the softer styles of the 1790s and 1800s. It wouldn't surprise me if gussets were the Continent's contribution to the soft corsets...

Hi Anna-Carin,thank you very much for taking the time to share your valuable input! I truly appreciate your information on the English 1780s stays.It is said that Bernhardt's books spread all over Europe in the 1810s, yet I think it's also due to the fact that he previously worked for travellers, who visited Dresden from the (mid) 1790s onwards. It would be highly interesting to gain more insight on the mutual influence of fashions and styles in different countries how they spread, how quick they spread etc.The hip gores on the V&A and the sparse use of baleen are striking, yet the front misses the hollow cut of the seams for lifting the bust (like it is recommended in Bernhardt's pattern).There's still so much research to do...I wish I could find more letters from/to Bernhardt, to get an even clearer view on how he has worked (how long he worked at the book before publishing it and how recent his patterns were).As for the stays, I hope I get my notes still right: on the first one I cut the edge of the 2nd pattern piece line "cd" running parallel to the selvedge (on grain). The second it was the 3rd pattern piece line "cd" parallel to the selvedge...I have had a third mock-up, but never took pictures of it, where both (pattern piece two and three, line "cd") would run parallel with the sevledge. All three result in lots of wrinkles on the front and side, in comparison to the final result, where the creasing is minimal and the whole bodice is quite smooth.Thank you again very much for your interest in these German Schnürleiber :)

Thanks for explaining! I think the grain line of the front piece makes a difference too, and in the photos of your mockups it seems that the front is cut on a straighter grain.

Good point about travelers; those who ordered stays and later showed them to a staymaker back home would have contributed to spreading new cuts, long before the books were published.

Stays could have a large number of pieces at the beginning of the 18th century, but some of the seams were eliminated during the 18th century, to make stays with fewer pieces. I think the use of hip gussets may be part of this process on the Continent, while the British removed seams at the front instead. Around the mid-century, British staymakers started to put all the bust shaping on the outside of a single wide front piece, which reaches to the base of the armscye. So the V&A stays have a very British cut in the front (if they'd had the bust-lifting seam in the front, I would've bet they were German!).

I've blogged about a couple of period stays patterns and plan to do more, but it covers other decades than your research.